Pacific Moonfish, Selene peruviana
Pacific Moonfish, Selene peruviana. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2021. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Bart, The Netherlands (worldangler.eu).
Pacific Moonfish, Selene peruviana. Fish provided by the commercial bait salesmen of Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, July 2014. Length: 35 cm (14 inches).
The Pacific Moonfish, Selene peruviana, is an exotic looking member of the Jack or Carangidae Family, that is also known as the Peruvian Moonfish and in Mexico as jorobado papelillo and locally as pompano and tortilla. Globally, there are nine species in the genus Selene, of which six are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic and three in the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific Moonfish has a strongly compressed rectangular-shaped bodies with a depth that is 45% to 49% of standard length. They are uniformly silver in color and have yellowish caudal and pectoral fins. Their head is moderately deep with a steep slightly concave forehead and snout profile. They have a protruding snout and an oblique mouth that ends well before the eyes. Their anal fin has 2 standalone spines followed by 1 spine and 16 to 19 rays; their caudal fin has a slender base and is deeply forked; their first dorsal fin has 8 spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 20 to 24 rays; their pectoral fins are curved and long; and, their pelvic fins are small and short. They have 7 to 9 gill rakers on the upper arch and 30 to 34 gill rakers on the lower arch. The anal and dorsal fins, are relatively short. They have very small scutes. The body appears devoid of scales.
The Pacific Moonfish are a pelagic schooling species found inshore and in estuaries demersal over sandy bottoms at depths up to 450 m (1,475 feet). They reach a maximum length of 85 cm (2 feet 10 inches). The Pacific Moonfish is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
In Mexican waters the Pacific Moonfish is a resident of all waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from the extreme northern portions of the Sea of Cortez.
The Pacific Moonfish can be confused with the Mexican Lookdown, Selene brevoortii (long anal and dorsal fins) and the Mexican Moonfish, Paraselene orstedii (straight head profile; long anal and dorsal fins).
From a conservation perspective the Pacific Moonfish is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are uncommon but can occasionally be caught predawn with Sabiki rigs tipped with squid. They are also caught on occasion with large cast nets and sold as live bait fish targeting Dorado, Striped Marlin and Yellowfin Tuna. They are considered an excellent food fish by locals.